AUBURN -- Auburn Community Hospital announced Monday morning that it is decreasing its number of staffed beds and laying off 25 employees.
The decrease is in response to a trend in decreasing the amount of in-patients, which has resulted in financial losses for the hospital.
It had an operating loss of $1 million for the first six months of this year after losing $2.5 million last year.
The decrease in staffed beds will result in a reduction of staff and the closure of the 4 Central nursing unit, officials said in a release. It will impact about 25 employees from nursing, housekeeping, coding and billing, and management departments. Officials say they hope staff reductions are only temporary. The reduction is being made to match the current staffing demands and if the census shows a sustained improvement in the months ahead, staffing will be restored to previous levels.
Syracuse University professor Tom Dennison, a health care expert, said patients are migrating to hospitals that offer more high-tech care.
The hospital says its average daily in-patient census dropped from 85 to 75 beds in the past five months. The hospital remains accredited for 99 beds by the New York State Department of Health.
"We know that this is difficult news, and we regret that this action must be taken at this time. However, we need to ensure that the Hospital operates within its means so that we can provide the greatest level of care to the members of our community," stated Scott Berlucchi, president and CEO in a media release. "We are continually grateful for all of our employees’ tremendous dedication and commitment to service," he added.
The Hospital is continuing with its search for an affiliation partner who is willing to make a financial commitment.
(Informatiom from the Associated Press was used in this report.)
